Private funeral for MacColl

MacColl died in a speedboat accident last month

A private funeral has been held for singer/songwriter Kirsty MacColl attended only by family and close friends, it has emerged.

Details of the event, held in London on Friday, are not being released.

But a message sent out to fans on her mailing list confirmed the funeral had taken place, adding: "May she rest in peace."

The acclaimed musician was killed in a boating accident last month.

She is also to be remembered at a memorial service at the church of St Martin in the Fields, close to Trafalgar Square, on 20 January.

A spokesman for her management company said the service would be open to the public, and that he was expecting a "big turnout".

MacColl was a much-loved figure

The church can hold up to 900 people, and has held services for Linda McCartney and broadcaster Desmond Wilcox in the past.

A memorial fund to MacColl, called Music Fund For Cuba, has also been set up.

It will be used to provide instruments and sheet music for children in Cuba, which provided the inspiration for her music throughout the 1990s.

The singer and songwriter was famous for her pop and country songs, and latterly for her interest in Latin American sounds.

Her songwriting revealed her sharp and witty insights into British contemporary life.

MacColl, 41, was killed on 18 December when a speedboat ran into her as she was diving off Cozumel, off the coast of Mexico, with her teenage sons.

Fund donations

A speedboat driver held by police after the death of MacColl was released on bail last month.

BBC Radio 2 had planned to air a documentary series she had made about Cuban music shortly after she died, but postponed the shows as a mark of respect.

Now the series will start on 31 January at 2200 GMT, and will be preceded by a tribute programme on 20 January at 2000 GMT.

Donations to the Kirsty MacColl memorial fund can be sent to: Music Fund For Cuba, c/o Major Minor Management, 99c Talbot Road, London, W11 2AT, United Kingdom.